– Do you know “A Place To Bury Strangers”?
– A place to do what?
– Ah, nevermind.
Nevermind, I know nothing about the band either. I’m only here for the lights really, the flashes of neon lights and the darkness in between, and a special kind of trance only live heavy music can bring.
The concert started on time. Quickly, silently – like shadows – the band members slipped onto the darkness-cloaked stage. From then on, it was an indefatigable onslaught of thundering bass lines, lean and mean drum grooves and a guitar that sounded like a spaceship taking off, augmented by terrific lighting.
Projectors flickered, translating the band members’ moves into a demonic sequence of stop-motion, loud aberration noise filling our ears and gradually our whole being, embracing in the way of a good old friend. That penetrating loudness felt strangely familiar, so comforting and kind…
The drummer was really, really good. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Contrasting with the shoegazing slump of her band members, she looked childishly cheerful with her head held high, smiling in that glowing ecstasy that comes naturally when you’re madly in love with what you do. I watched her deliver the head banging crowd some tight drumming, with punkish energy and blistering fills – and thought to myself how there was something endearingly shamanic about her style. The sound grew louder and louder, radiating its enchantment onto the crowd until the lights suddenly came off and...
This is when the real magic began. The band members left their assigned place on stage and infiltrated the unsuspecting crowd. A little earlier, I too had had to leave my spot right in front of the stage when a mosh pit spontaneously formed, and had found myself somewhat farther, deep into the crowd. How surprised I was to see an improvised setup right there, the band members a few metres from me, listeners surrounding them in something resembling a ritual circle…
Oliver*, the guitarist, all but swallowed the microphone, drawing forth from himself a most primordial low-frequency howl – that howl was echoed by the distorted, eerie bellow of John’s bass guitar. As he deep-throated the mic, he was twisting and turning the knobs on the console with the sole purpose of making as much noise as possible. The drummer Sandra continued with her rhythmical mantra and so, bewitched, we moved obediently to the rhythm, each one feeling themselves a part of some macabre reenactment that went on and on like a fever dream…
As the concert ended and the band members came down to meet the audience, my eyes followed the sincere smiles on their exhausted yet so friendly faces, and I said to my friend:
– You know, when they were down here with us, it felt really special, bonding even. I think this is what it means, a place to bury strangers. After the concert, after all the dancing and swaying and shaking in trance – us and them, we are not strangers anymore…
Some minutes later, when we finally got the courage to introduce ourselves and thank the band for the evening, the theory was confirmed.
***
…All in all, hold it as a reminder from a well-wishing stranger – no matter how bad it gets, you can always get a ticket for a random local gig of some sexy band you hardly even know and do your best to dance your woes away.
Special thanks to Rotondes for making sure that A Place To Bury Strangers plays in Luxembourg, and for giving us a chance to share the experience! We strongly recommend checking out their website for all their upcoming fantastic events.
*I found out the names of the members afterwards.
For all my fellow fans of post-punk and shoegaze music who don’t yet know the band – you can find them on IG: @aptbs, their website is www.aplacetoburystrangers.com and their latest EP called Hologram is out on your favourite platforms x
Roux Magazine is made by students at the University of Luxembourg. We love their work, so we decided to team up with them and bring some of their articles to our audience as well. You can find all of their issues on Issuu.
